About the director and producer: Husband and wife dynamic duo’s first film. We want to show the chaos and the peace, that ‘very fine balance’ between the cinematic and the real, to tell stories of unexplained wonders and drama that are rendered from actual lives and experiences. To show you what you don't know. Perhaps a slight exaggeration of real life-something that is more intense and dramatic. A heightened representation of real life, like a parallel universe. To lure you in with our lighting and our staged scenes, to a place that is so beautifully fucked up. To show the dark things happening. Things that might not be pleasant to watch, but the lighting aestheticisez them and makes looking at the photographs irresistible.

Formento &Formento known worldwide for their mesmerizing blend of cinematic style and social message. Richeille a creative director, draws inspiration from her artistic roots, emphasizing storytelling, design, forward thinking fashion, space and architecture. BJ works with his incredible attention to detail, cinematic lighting, composition, artistic sensibility, dedication and sense of urgency. F&F has left an indelible impression on viewers, sharing love of cinema and crusade to continue telling stories that are both forward-thinking and timeless.

After seeing the photograph of the drowned Syrian child Aylan Kurdi, we asked ourselves how can we help? So we made this short film and photography exhibition that we showed at RED Digital Cinema in Miami during Art Basel 2015. We donated sales from the prints to the International Refugee Committee. Over 1000 guest made a stand with us at opening night.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Displacement, cultural migration and memory are central to the theme of this poetic short film and photographic work. As reality weighs heavily on our conscience, stirred up by the inundation of horrific narratives and footage. Refugees abandoning the ills of their long loved countries delving into the brutality of the unknown.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

We are satiated with images from this cataclysmic event happening in Syria that I am afraid it desensitizes us to a point of numbness. We hope to bring attention to this horrible crisis in our world and perhaps move you to action.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

The creative spirit flowed through Richeille and I. We wrote the story one afternoon and began production a few weeks later with the help of Jarred Land CEO of Red Digital Cinema. We shot it in 3 days and the film stayed true to the original storyboard.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Wonderful! The film has garnered so much attention and has raised some funds for the IRC. It has won Van Gogh Best Experimental Film Award at the Amsterdam Film Festival and World Cinema Best Experimental Film with London Independent Film Festival, shown at Court Metrage Cannes Festival 2016 and Kurz Film Festival Germany.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

The feedback has been an enormous validation that as storytellers we can cross over from still photography to film.

The Voyage

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We made this film to raise awareness to the plight of refugees around the world and with the help of “we are moving stories” we hope to maximize our reach.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

If the film reaches just 1 person and creates a chain reaction then our job is done.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We want you to take a stand, to donate, to create a dialogue within your community, to get up out of your seats and demand the powers that be to address this atrocity.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Over 5 million people have fled Syria and another 6.5 million are displaced within Syria, half of those affected are children.

How can we go about our daily lives and not raise a finger to help?

Would you like to add anything else?

There are now some 60 million displaced people around the world, more than at any time since World War II. The Syrian crisis alone, which has created the largest refugee shock of the era, has displaced some ten million people, around four million of them across international borders. This boats-and-camps approach misses the core of the problem. As European countries struggle with what to do about the influx of people displaced by violence in the Middle East who have arrived in Europe in recent months, they should work harder to address the refugee crisis closer to its main source: Syria.

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

We are working on the screenplay to our first feature film exploring the history of the Philippines

Also working with Glitterati Incorporated publishing our second photography book.